Blackinnon Drabbles
by https-fern
Summary: A series of drabbles form tumblr
1. Drunk at post-Quidditch party

Not even the immensurable amount of alcohol in his system would make Sirius' mood change. His House had just won the Quidditch Cup for his last year, against Slytherin out of all Houses, and even so nothing could pull him out of this morbid state.

Maybe he should just call it a night and head off to his dorm. Maybe he should just ignore everyone around him and pretend that his eyes were not focusing on Slytherin's Chaser and Captain as she snogged whoever that was. Of course he didn't care about that. Sirius Black and Marlene McKinnon were never a thing. What they had was only a slip up; a mistake that should never have happened and should never kept going for the followings months after the first time.

But, instead of doing any of those things, Sirius opted to lurk around the far corner of the Gryffindor Common Room, his eyes never leaving the sight of the blonde head that dwelt in his thoughts for the past week, ever since the day he decided to neglect everything that was related to her.

Sirius Black was the kind of person who didn't do romance. He pushed down every type of feeling he could ever have for someone and put as much distance between them as possible and never thought about it twice. And it worked perfectly fine, until he met a certain pure blood who would drive him crazy.

At first, Marlene McKinnon was just someone who shared a friendship with him, someone he could bicker with and annoy. Besides the throwing offenses festival between them, they were nothing more than acquaintances destined to drive each other out of their minds.

For the first time in forever, Sirius could say that he had found his match. He could say that for as bad as he was, she was worse and it only drove him into her, each time needing higher doses of whatever she had, until he felt like he was going to explode. It was a kind of feeling he had never felt before, something he could never dream of and he didn't know what to do or how to act anymore. He had to get away from it all. Pushing it down hadn't worked. The easy escape failed.

From the other side of the room, Marlene was aware of the pair of eyes following her every move. She did everything she could to keep herself in his line of sight, her already drunk mind soaking in the thought of Sirius being affected by anything she did, but she wanted more. She wanted to see him going up the walls, marching up to her and beg on his knees for her to stop the teasing and she was up to that challenge.

The song had changed and some upbeat music started, the bass booming through the air, intoxicating everyone and working faster on drunken minds, for the looks of it, as Marlene made her way to the dance floor, her date, or whatever, following like a little puppy, dazzled.

From his shadows, Sirius did everything he could to stay in place. First of all, he wanted to know how she had gotten into their party. Her team lost and yet there she was. He knew James should be the responsible and he wanted nothing more than to just punch him in the face for allowing such a thing, but he couldn't. Because James Potter had no idea Sirius Black had been involved with one of his best friends. And no one would ever know. On a second place, the boy knew that if he moved, even if a few centimetres, nothing would stop him from going to the jerk that had his arms around McKinnon and kicking his ass.

With one hand balling into a fist, Sirius downed the content of his cup in one swig, the Firewhiskey burning its way through his throat into his stomach, warming him up, his face getting redder, whether it being the drink or his fast heartbeat, he couldn't be sure.

For the first few minutes, he could hold back any kind of violence he held within him, but as soon as his grey orbs caught McKinnon's blue ones, he was in a trance. He couldn't look at anything else, not that he was before, and his eyes followed her expression, seeing the damned smirk she had on her lips as she saw his breath get shallower. And, s if it wasn't enough, Sirius had to watch as she kissed the guy's neck, her eyes wide open and stuck on him.

In a sudden move, Black pushed himself off the wall, his feet faltering a bit with each step, and made her way to the centre of the dance floor, his arms wide open.

"Having fun, McKinnon?" he said in a cold voice, his tone dripping with rage.

Slowly, Marlene raised her head from her date's shoulder and blinked a couple of times, pretending she didn't know what was going on and just shaking her head, ignoring Sirius completely.

It happened so fast Sirius didn't even know what he was doing. A moment before he was staring at the girl and the next one he had her date pressed against him, the guy's arm bent in a painful angle before he finally let go and pushed him down, walking up to Marlene and pushing her against the nearer wall.

"What the fuck was that, Black?" she bellowed, her hands hitting his chest in an attempt of getting away from him.

"That," he said, his head leaning down to hers. "Was me being polite to that _thing_ you brought."

His heart was beating wildly fast and she could feel it against her hands pressed on his chest. His face was contorted in a scowl and his breath fanned her face. Sirius was on the verge of a breaking down and all Marlene could think of was how much seeing him like that turned her on.

Pressing her thighs together, trying to relieve some of the tension created, she smirked and shook her head.

"Are you jealous?" she asked, her fingers tracing the shape of his shoulders, her nails slightly scratching his neck.

Sirius closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling this minimal touch provided. Something deep inside of him was building up, burning its way to his core and shaking him in a way it never did. Before he could do anything, however, her feather-like touch disappeared and his eyes snapped open just in time to see her leaning up to him, her lips blowing on his ear.

"I'm not yours," she whispered with a smirk, sucking his earlobe lightly before pushing him off of her and walking out of the Common Room, her waist swaying as her eyes never left him. "You should take care of this boner, Black." She called out no even looking back as some sniggers were heard.


	2. Smile when you give it back

It wasn't a secret that Marlene McKinnon liked sex. More than liked, actually, if someone got the time to ask her opinion about it. So it wasn't strange when she started using a white lighter with the words "if you want to fuck, smile when you give this lighter back". At first, it sounded like a great idea and everyone would borrow it and smile when they gave it back to her. What was surprising, however, was the fact that Sirius Black would borrow the lighter all the time. Everyone knew he carried one wherever he went, but even so there he was, walking up to the blonde girl, a smile playing on his face as he asked for the lighter, a cigarette between his two fingers.

That day wasn't any different. Sirius had walked up to Marlene, asked for the white lighter and smiled when he gave it back to her. Marlene laughed and pulled him by his tie, planting a quick kiss on his lips and pushing him into the nearest empty classroom.

If there was one thing Marlene kept, was her promises and if she had said she'd had sex with someone, she would. Sirius Black was, by far, the best one to ever have that kind of intimacy with her. She wouldn't deny him a quickie before charms or a mind-blowing sex session over the night, so how could she say no to him that afternoon?

"You really are out of this world, aren't you, Black?" Marlene asked, pulling her skirt up, her hair a bit messy and clinging on her neck.

"I can't really help it, can I, McKinnon?" He said, a smirk on his face, as he put his shirt back on. "Now, could you lend me the lighter?"

Marlene gasped and opened her mouth. She could believe her ears. Was he asking for the goddamned thing again? Hadn't she just let him fuck her senseless?

"Again?" She snapped.

Sirius took a long look at the shirtless girl in front of him, a smile not inoccent at all already on his lips as he walked up to her, his arms snaking around her waist. "Not that it's ever enough, Mar, but I really could use a cigarette now." He murmured and walked away.


	3. Why did she have to go?

Those damned eyes kept coming back to his mind over and over again. It was late at night, but Sirius couldn't get his mind off of her. Her blonde hair falling in soft waves around her shoulders, the way she'd pinch her nose when he did something she didn't like, that stupid smile she had on when he was nervous and would ramble on, the light in her blue eyes, that mischevious expression never leaving her face.

Sirius missed every single part of Marlene. Every inch of his body longed to touch hers again and he couldn't take the pain of not being able to do it.

His heart had been torn apart. Ripped out of his chest and squeezed until it turned into dust. He couldn't understand why she had to be taken from his life.

If anyone had asked, earlier that month, how much he loved her, he wouldn't know how to answer. He had never thought much about it, never wanted to admit that she turned to be the most important person in his life. But now he did. And he regretted not doing anything about it sooner. Marlene was gone and he missed her way too much to think straight.

His days and nights became a blur. He spent all of his time sitting on a chair, drinking firewhisky and mourning. He wouldn't go out, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't take a bath. Sirius Black was reduced to a pile of bones and he couldn't care less.

One week had gone since Marlene was killed without Sirius realising. He was in the same position he was left by James after the funeral. His face was pale, his eyes red. His so praised hair was a shamefull mess while his once perfect clothes looked raggedy.

James came through the front door, not even bothering to knock. His face was serious and he marched right up to his best friend, giving him a small smile before sitting by his side. A minute or so went by without a sound, James waiting until Sirius acknowledged him there, with no such success.

"Hey, Pads," James started whispering, not daring to startle the mourning person beside him. "I know it's hard, mate, but you got to let it all go. Marley wouldn't want to see you like that," a small smile spread across his face again, thinking about his lost friend. "She'd tell you to suck it up and deal with it."

Out of nowhere, a fist came with a brutal force against James' jaw. The dark haired man lost balance and fell backwards, clutching his face and looked bewildered at Sirius.

Black had stopped facing the wall and looked at his best friend with a murderous stare. His eyes reflected anger, sorrow and the mix of all his feelings.

"Don't you dare talk about her!" He shouted, getting up and closing his hand in another fist, ready to attack again. "Don't you dare, Potter! It was all your fault!"

James wide opened his eyes and kept staring at Sirius with utter confusion. He was so taken by surprise, that he could not answer anything, just freeze in shock.

Sirius' tatrum was not over yet. He kept pacing around the room, kicking the furniture and yelling at James.

"You were with her that night! You were supposed to check her house! You killed her, Potter! You!"

His voice betraid him and broke at the final word. He fell down to the floor and let the tears and sobs take control over himself. Marlene's death overwhelmed him again.

Uncertain, James walked slowly to him, his steps steady. He knew Sirius would have a bad reaction, but he didn't expect that one. He knew it was harder for his friend, so he didn't try to take the blame from his hands.

"I'm sorry, Pads…" he mumbled, kneeling down in front of Sirius and patting his back, still a little unsure.

"Why'd she have to go?" He whispered between sobs.

"I don't know." James whispered back, hugging the other boy. "Life has those things. We lose who we shouldn't and we don't understand why."

Sirius lifted his head and looked at James. He had tears in his eyes as well, his voice a little shaky. Sirius wasn't the only one who had lost her. He lost his girlfriend, the person he loved the most, but James lost one of his best friends, ths girl who was like a sister to him.

"I'm sorry," Black mumbled. "I didn't mean to hit you. Or blame you."

James let out a small smile.

"Yes, you did mean to hit me, but that's fine. You needed to let it out."


	4. Caught

The first time Sirius was caught sneaking out of the house, he got a warning. The second time, a lecture. But the third time his parents found him coming back almost in the morning, he got grounded. One month of not being allowed to leave the house unless it was a kind of emergency or because he was asked to run some errands. And no visitors were allowed.

Instead of days spent with his friends and rushing to the McKinnon Manor, _in Scotland_ , in the middle of the night, Sirius was supposed to stick around and 'think about his actions' as Mr. Potter had said.  
And that was what the dark haired boy was doing so greatly until he got an unexpected visitor one afternoon.

Sirius had been staring at the ceiling in his room when he heard a knock on the window.  
Thinking it was James shoving his freedom down his throat, Black marched up to the other side of the room, promptly opening the window ready to curse his best friend.

Only his expectations were dead wrong: outside, hovering over the backyard and smiling at Sirius, was Marlene McKinnon on a broomstick.  
Dumbstruck, the boy only kept staring right back at her.

"Are you going to let me in?" The blonde inquired, looking impatient.

Shaking his head, Sirius got out of the way and Marlene went in, putting her broom in a corner and sitting on Sirius' bed.

"What are you doing here?" He asked closing the window and going up to her.

"Oh, James told me you were grounded and couldn't leave the house." She waved her hands and smiled mockingly. "I had to see it for myself."

Sirius rolled his eyes and laid back. Of course she would make fun of such situation. She was Marlene McKinnon after all. She liked to play with his misery.

"You came all this way just to laugh at me, McKinnon?"

"Oh no, Black", she smiled. "I thought you could use some company."

There was no way to understand Marlene's statement unless the one she implied and Sirius knew that. He had been with her long enough to identify every single tone of malice in her voice.

"Yeah, that sounds fair", he replied and lost no time in kissing her full on the lips, bringing her down with him.

Marlene smiled at the boy's urgency. One week had been too much for him.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Mrs. Potter had been baking Sirius' favourite cookies. She knew she shouldn't spoil her sons so much, especially one who had been running to Scotland every night just see his girlfriend, but she couldn't help herself. It was in her nature to please others and get on their good side.

Getting the tray out of the oven and putting it aside, Mrs. Potter smiled and decided to go upstairs to call Sirius for cookies and milk. It doesn't matter how old you are, she used to say when the boys would complain they were 16 and didn't have the age to that anymore, if your mum brings you cookies and milk, you eat it.

"Sirius, honey, I made those cookies you like", Mrs. Potter said, knocking quickly on the boy's door and opening it right away.

She heard more than she saw. She heard a male voice scream "MUM!" and the sound of blankets being pulled and the bed creaking.  
She saw a blonde figure trying to cover herself and murmur some profanities.

"What is happening here?" She asked, eyes wide open, now really seeing the messy bed, clothes everywhere and Sirius and Marlene hiding under the blankets.

"Does it help if I say it's not what you think?" The girl tried, her voice a tone lower.

"No, it doesn't." Mrs. Potter shot back, folding her arms in front of her chest and looking straight at the teenagers. "Sirius, you are grounded. You aren't allowed to have anyone over. Especially not for… what you're doing!" She finished, her face hot.

"Mum… I'm sorry", he mumbled.

"No, son, not this time", she sighed and shook her head. "You've got to understand that there are certain rules you need to follow. Especially in my house." She paused and walked back to the door. "Get dressed. I'll be waiting for you two downstairs. And you'll be going home in a few minutes, Marlene."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, Mrs Potter turned her back on them and walked out of the room and out of that mess, leaving the two of them alone for the next few minutes.

"We're so fucked up", Sirius mumbled, turning his face to Marlene.

"She _saw_ us, Black! Not heard, but _saw_. We're more than fucked up."


	5. Chapter Nightmare

_Her feet were hitting the ground hard, her legs pushing her always forwards. Her lungs were burning from the frenetic run and her forehead was beaming in sweat. Marlene was running like her life dependend on it and it did._

 _Behind her, flashes of green lights flew towards her, nearly missing the blonde head._  
 _Wiping away the tears streaming down her face and shoving the thought of her friends dead, Marlene sped down a black corridor, trying to find some place to hide._ _There was no one who could help._

 _"They're all dead", she mumbled, her voice breaking, barely able to carry away any sound. "They're all dead."_

 _Her breath was erratic, her heart pounding against her chest, but even so she was able to hear the clod laugh coming from the darkness._

Marlene shot her eyes open and met more darkness, but she didn't freak out. The moonlight coming from the windows was enough for her to see she was in the boy's dorm.

Releasing a breath she didn't know she was holding, McKinnon felt someone move beside her and was glad to see it was just Sirius rubbing the sleepness out of his eyes.

"Are you ok?", he inquired, his voice hoarser than usually.

"Yeah", Marlene whispered, running one hand through her hair, trying to get rid of the images inside her head.

"Are you sure? You sound a little off."

"I'm fine, Black!", she snapped.

Sirius raised one eyebrow up, a trait he was famous for, and looked intently at the girl lying beside him: she was tough, there was no denying, but something in her eyes made the boy doubt she was fine.

He could see she was nervous, moving her eyes around, jumping a little when he moved and her breath was a little shaky.

"Did you have a nightmare?", he whispered, carefully placing one arm aroud her and pulling her closer.

"Nothing I can't handle, Black", she shot back while rolling her eyes.

"I never said you couldn't", he chuckled. "And stop being such an arse when I'm trying to comfort you, McKinnon."

A small laugh erupted from Marlene's mouth and she felt a bit calmer.

"What to you want me to say? 'Thank you for coming in my help'?" She laughed. "Not gonna happen, Black."

"See, now I'm sure you're feeling better", Sirius joked. "But I mean it, McKinnon, no use lying to me. And", he stopped for a moment, looking into her eyes. "I'm here, ok?"


	6. Morning routine

"How many times do I have to tell you it's not necessary?"

"And how many times do _I_ have to tell _you_ I'm doing it no matter what?" Sirius said, throwing one last glance at Marlene before going back to put his clothes on.

Every morning was spent the same way: Marlene would wake up, get off the bed, take a shower and get ready for her job at the Prophet. Sometime around the middle of the process, Sirius would roll off the bed, brush his teeth, throw some clothes on and mess his hair a little bit more, making it look like he had just had sex.

Every morning, the dark haired boy would tell his blonde girlfriend he was going to take her to work. Everytime she would turn it down. He always did it anyway.

"Fine!" Marlene grunted with a roll of eyes. She knew there was no talking Sirius out of anything he had in mind. "But hurry. I'm already late."

Sirius winked at her while running a hand through his wet hair.

"Well, it's not my fault you look extremely hot in the morning, McKinnon." He said matter-of-factly, sliding out of the bedroom, into the living room.

"That's how I look every morning, Black."

"Then we'll have a serious problem."

Wrapping an arm around the girl's shoulder, Sirius led them out of the small apartment they shared, making their way to the Prophet, which wasn't that far.

"We could just Apparate." Marlene murmured.

"Nah, I'm fine showing you off to the neighbours." Sirius chuckled.

That made the blonde girl smile. In her relationship with Sirius, there were never moments of cuteness, as both of them had no patience for that, but it was good to hear a little compliment every now and then and that was the closest thing that would come out of Sirius' mouth.

When they reached the entrance of the newspaper, Marlene stopped and looked around.

"That's how far you go, Black." She said placing her hands on his chest. "We don't need anyone else walking into my office whilst we bloody snog."

"That must have been quite a surprise to them." Sirius smirked, remembering the day not so long gone.

"They kept talking about it for days."

"Then let's give them another thing to talk about."

Unexpectedly, Black snaked his arms around Marlene's waist and pulled her in, kissing the girl hard on the lips. She didn't hesitate and threw her own arms around the boy's neck, fully aware that everyone around them was able to see that. As soon as Sirius' hands reached Marlene's bum, she stepped out of the hug.

"Keep your hands to yourself, Black." Smirking, she turned her back to him. "See you later." She said as she went across the street and into the massive building.

"You better not come home too late, McKinnon, or I'll come after you." He shouted after her and chuckled when he saw her give him the finger.

There was no turning back. He would ask her to marry him that night.


	7. Brown eyes

It sucked. Having your house full of people you saw only once in a while, kids running up and down the staircase, grown-ups using the living room as well as the kitchen and having no one about your age.

Those were some of the reasons that made Marlene McKinnon hate family parties. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that she was prohibited to be locked in her room for as long as it lasted. She was supposed to sit with her aunts and her mother and chat cheerfully about whatever they came up with.

Only this time things were a bit different: Sirius was there. Out of all the days, Sirius Black went there during the McKinnon Yearly Party, as some would call it, much to Marlene's dismay. She knew her boyfriend was there just because Mrs. Potter had made him go, but she didn't care. He was there and she would have anything else to do, even if what she had in mind couldn't be done. What she didn't expect, however, was the fact that her brothers would be so fond of being around her all day and treat her as the little girl everyone thought she was. Everyone apart from Sirius, that is.

"But what most people out of our family don't know, Sirius", Marius started, smiling innocently at Marlene. "Is that your girlfriend is the only one, apart from grandma, that has brown eyes."

"Some say it's bad luck, but me and Marius think our baby sister is adopted", Marcus completed and Marlene hissed. Mostly because he called her _baby sister_ and God knew baby wasn't the word to describe her.

"It's called genetics, you moron", she replied with a roll of eyes. "And I really don't care. I like my eye colour just as much as I love my blonde hair, which you have not."

"Oh, yeah? Then why could you be seen trying to find a spell to change eye colour?"

"And it was last week, if you don't recall."

Marlene wanted to strike that good girl pose and punch her older brothers right there.

She closed her hands in fists and Sirius felt the tension build up inside of her. It was a silly thing to be mad about, but what stressed the blondie was the fact that Marius and Marcus were making fun of her in front of Sirius Black.

Realising the serious debate going on inside Marlene's mind, Sirius smiled lazily and held both of her hands in his.

"Oh, really?" He started slowly, turning his eyes, once glued to his girlfriend's face, to her brothers and smiled. "That's kind of funny, you know, if you think about the fact that brown eyes are blue eyes with a melanin layer", he completed nonchalantly, leaving the three McKinnon speecheless. "Besides", he went on, whispering to Marlene this time. "I prefer your eyes the way they are. It's interesting seeing them go really dark when you are turned on."


	8. Smile, Paddy

_The Common Room was quieter than usual, considering the fact that it was a Saturday night. A few Gryffindors were sat in the far corner of the room, whispering to themselves as if they had a big secret that could not be shared._

 _On the couch by the fireplace, Sirius Black rolled his eyes. What could first years have that was such a secret? Nothing, he thought to himself. They were just trying to get some attention. If you looked close, it was able to see their eyes darting from person to person._

 _The portrait hole opened and a gush of wind found its way around the golden and red room, making the fire, just lighted up, flicker._

 _A shiver went down the boy's spine. Although he was the closest to the flames, those were the side effects of sneaking out of the dorms the night before. A snowy night, nevertheless._

 _But no matter what everyone would say, Sirius would reply with a "it was worth it" and give a sly smile. The goosebumps on his arms, though, begged to differ and wouldn't go away. The fucking moron by the portrait wouldn't come in nor get out and the boy's cold, in the beginning, hated it and made it pretty clear to Black._

 _Looking around for some blanket, Sirius could only find a pink hoodie he knew belonged to Lily. Sighing heavily, he reached out to the piece and threw it over his head putting it on. He knew he looked hideous, but at least the shivers had stopped._

 _Looking back at the door, it was finally closed and two figures were making their way to the Gryffindor boy._

 _"Didn't know you enjoyed the colour, Black", Lily Evans smiled innocently._

 _"Well, it really suits his skin colour, don't you think?" James joined, smirking at his best friend._

 _"Don't you have anything else to do?" Sirius muttered, his voice a little hoarser than usual, feeling like the mockings wouldn't stop so soon._

 _"Oh no, that can wait, dear", Lily said sitting by his side. "You can wear that, by the way."_

 _James, on the other hand, sat across from Black and smiled wickedly._

 _"Wouldn't it be awesome if Marlene could see that? Oh, I can imagine the jokes!"_

 _"Don't you dare, Potter!" Sirius said through gritted teeth._

 _"Too late, mate", he said as he took a camera out of his backpack._ _"Smile, Paddy!"_


	9. Muggle teacher AU

A door slammed against its frame and the windows shook a bit. Startled, Sirius turned his eyes to the direction the sound came from and rolled his eyes as he saw Marlene standing there, a fierce look on her face, her arms crossed on her chest. He could tell she was mad at something and put himself to think if he had done anything to cause that.

The blonde marched up to him and stood in front of his table and she wasn't happy at all. Her blue eyes were stormy as she glanced at him, waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she uncrossed her arms and took a deep breath.

"When were you gonna tell me?" She asked.

"What are you taking about?" Sirius asked back, one eyebrow up, totally confused about what was going on.

Marlene rolled her eyes and sighed. How could he play dumb like that?

"That whore you employed to be the new English teacher! Have you seen how short was her skirt? Her cleavage? This is a school!" She ranted. In her mind, that wasn't an acceptable idea to hire that woman.

Sirius gave a small smile and got up, walking up to his wife. They had been together even before they started teaching in that school, so he knew exactly what she was going on about. She was acting more out of jealous than anything else.

"What? Are you jealous?" He limited to say, his arms going around her waist, trying to defuse the tension.

"Don't start!" She pushed him back. "I know you did that on purpose."

Sirius rolled his eyes and went up to her trying to put some reason inside her head.

"Why would I? She was just suitable for the work. I can't really fire her because of her clothes."

"Of course you can. We have a dress code!" She shot back, annoyed.

Coming to thinking about it, she was right. The school did have a dress code to be followed by the students and the teachers. But the new English teacher wasn't exactly breaking it. Marlene was just overreacting and Sirius knew it. Even so, he knew better than try to argue with her. He didn't stand a chance.

"You're right. I'll talk to her." He sighed, finally reaching her and smiled.

"You better not look into that cleavage, Black, or I'll kill you." She murmured on his ear. "Now… can you go home already?"

With a deep sigh, Sirius closed his eyes. He knew what she meant by that and he cursed under his breath. Of course he still had problems to deal with.

"I've got to deal with those two outside."

"And can't you just tell them you'll do it tomorrow?" She asked, her hands travelling down his pants. She knew exactly what to do to make him change his mind right away. It always worked.

"I did it yesterday." He whispered, his eyes closed. She was going to cause him to be a terrible principal if he kept pushing his errands back.

"Oh, well," Marlene sighed and pushed away from him. "If you say so, I'll be on my way."

She walked up to the door and turned the knob.

"I'll be waiting you with that lingerie you like." She winked. "The red one, almost transparent." She added and smiled mischievously. "Try not to hink about it on me." And walked out.

Sirius slammed his head against the nearest wall and took a long, deep breath. He was so not going to focus until he went home.


	10. Beware the kitchen

Sirius Black grew up challenging his parents. Always going against their better judgement, doing things they told him not to do and getting involved with people they didn't approve of. Maybe that was why Sirius always had in mind that he could do anything if he put enough effort into it.

Having that in mind, and being openly fanatic about the Halloween, the residents of Linsey Street, London, always woke up to the most absurd view every October 31st. The front yard of the 2 store house always looked like a theme park with carved pumpkins looking menacing, skeletons lying around in the most ghoulish poses, fake webs in every corner and grim lights projecting shadows all over the yard.

The inside didn't look any different. The fake webs were all over the place, sometimes forming an arch on the corridors and doorframes. Fake bats hung from the ceiling in nylon strings, making it look like they were standing there on their own alongside a realistic looking ghoul. The living room was filled with jars containing the most bizarre things, such as eye balls, frog legs, spiders and everything a witch from a fairytale would use to brew their potions, while a big cauldron boiled with a dark substance (probably just water with some paint in it) and smoke from the dry ice coming out of it. To top it all off, a black light was put somewhere in it, giving the illusion of it coming out of the cauldron.

At least that was what the Muggles believed to be true.

Being from a renown family of wizards, Sirius Black knew how to put it all up and still making non-magical people believe what they were seeing was a typical trick and nothing else and that year was not going to be different. He needed to occupy his mind with it or he'd go insane.

Yes, it was the second Halloween he and his family would have without Avior, but maybe everyone needed to distract themselves and accept the fact that life goes on. Last year had already gone by without him having the courage to do anything.

With that in mind, Sirius spent the whole night setting up the decorations and listing everything else that should be done by the end of the day.

That Sunday morning, Marlene woke up to the smell of something burning and jumped out of the bed as soon as her reflexes allowed her, running down the stairs and entering a smoke filled kitchen. The sprinklers had not been activated and through the thin layer of smoke she could see her husband taking something out of the oven that resembled like charcoal.

"What the fuck are you doing, Black?" She snapped as soon as he turned around and met her, a furious expression adorning her face. "Are you trying to kill everyone in the house?"

Sirius chuckled and shrugged, not really caring about the mad woman in front of him. Truth to be told, he had seen her like that plenty of times and learned better than to try to argue.

"Well, happy Halloween for you too, McKinnon." He said in a rather good humor. "Now that you're up, why don't you get your marvellous ass in here and help me with the fucking food since I'm helpless at that?" He smirked

With a roll of eyes, Marlene marched into the kitchen, took the tray out of his hands and slammed him against the counter.

"You ruin my kitchen again and you're a dead man!" She threatened and kissed him fiercely. "Good morning."


	11. Karaoke night

Friday night. To the youngsters, it is the perfect excuse to go out and have fun, meet friends and – why not – cause havoc wherever they were. It was the time to have a get away from all the chaotic routine they lived in, being it school or work.

The once busy streets, full of honking cars and rushing workers, started to experience a new kind of rush, filled with smiley faces instead of the tired expressions it seemed to go through everyday and cheerful screams of greeting as young adult after young adult made their ways into the pubs and night clubs around that area, their feet slamming against the concrete sidewalk in order to get away from the cold weather outside.

Maybe that was why, Sirius thought to himself, the karaoke bar was so packed despite it not being that known. At first, it was a problem to people like Remus and Dorcas, who would not put themselves through the humiliation of singing offtune in front dozens of people they didn't know, according to their own words, but as the night went on, they had found themselves jamming to the beat of _Rebel Rebel_ until, finally it was Black's turn.

With a deep breath, he made his way to the stage, his eyes scanning through the crowd of unknown eyes, searching for anyone he knew, a smug smile on his face as his ears catch the first accords of the song. Of course he would be singing _Sex Pistols_.

The poorly ventilated bar seemed to make the air grow thick with every movement Sirius made, his uncoordinated steps making him look drunker than he really was, but he didn't care. He wasn't much of a dancer, that was for sure, but since he was up there, he would have the time of his life, not caring about what anyone would think of him, following his motto of not giving a damn about people's thoughts.

Throughout the song, he could feel his breath getting worked up, sweat dripping down his face as he sang like there was no tomorrow. His body moved rhythmly with the song as his hand ran through his face in a feeble attempt of getting rid of the perspiration trickling down. To whoever looked at him performing, Sirius could easily be mistaken as a musician having some fun. His voice sent chills down everyone's spines, his stance gave off confidence and there could be seen some girls making intense eye contact with the man, desperate for any kind of interaction.

His eyes, however, were locked on a certain blonde head sat by the bar, her eyes roaming around the place, acting as if she wasn't affected by the show Sirius was putting on, as he smiled down at her. He was sure Marlene was putting on a brave façade in order to keep away whatever thoughts he might have been inciting inside her brain.

Chuckling to himself, he let his hands wander over his shoulders, the black leather jacket coming in contact with his fingers as he tugged the clothe garment away from him, the sleeves getting stuck in his biceps. The movement did not go undetected to Marlene and she knew he was trying to cause her to react, but he was going to need much more than that to really provoke her.

Over the years, she had grown immune to his half-minded attempts of seducing her. Yes, she still would feel her breath catch on her throat whenever he tried, but it was more of a stinging sensation instead of a burning desire to rip his clothes off of him. For those moments, he seemed to enjoy doing it when they were alone.

"What a piece", she heard someone mumbling behind her, her eyes tearing away from Sirius' for the first time since he stepped on the stage.

"I'm sorry?" she heard herself saying to the only man she found by the bar, her eyes going over his features and approving what she had seen. He wasn't a 6'1", his hair was blonde and his eyes were the wrong color, but she couldn't deny he was attractive.

"That guy up there," he said one more time and she could definitely conclude his accent wasn't right either. "Thinking this is some kind of gig he's playing."

Marlene held back a laugh. It wasn't the first time Sirius' dramatic performance caused some guy to roll his eyes, but it usually ended up being James.

"He's always like that", she simply said and turned her attention to the stage one more time.

"So you're a regular?" the guy insisted, this time a little bit closer to the girl he had been watching all night. He wasn't sure if she had come on her own, but was willing to discover.

"Not really." She said uninterested, her eyes now roaming along the room looking for someone she knew. It could be anyone. "First time." She completed, mentally cursing her friends for leaving her alone.

From up the stage, Sirius could see pretty much everyone. He was aware of James and Lily to his left, their eyes trained on him as they tried their best not to laugh at him. Sirius could also see Remus and Dorcas sat right in front of the stage, politely laughing at a few girls who couldn't seem to stop watching the young Black.

Throwing a smile on their direction, Sirius finally got rid of his jacket, throwing it towards Doe with a low chuckle and a playful wink, to which she responded with a fake faint.

Everything seemed to be light and full of fun and as the song was coming to an end, he caught sight of Marlene once again, a displeased expression on her face as she slightly pointed to the guy behind her, who, by the way, seemed to be way too close for his liking.

The final note finally ended, the crowd erupting in cheerful claps, but Sirius had already set his mind to only think about the interaction his eyes had caught. It wasn't that Marlene couldn't handle a guy on her own, because he knew she could, but suddenly, the idea of someone being that close to his girlfriend infuriated him and without much else on his mind, Sirius made his way to the center of the room, his steps hard against the linoleum floor, his thoughts sobered up.

However, as he got closer to the central bar, he could faintly hear the conversation between Marlene and the mysterious guy, who now had his hands resting on the girl's arms as his face leaned more into her each passing second.

"Hey!" Sirius finally said, his arms snaking around Marlene's waist as if she was totally alone. "I told you I could sing."

Marlene pressed her lips together, clearly trying her best not to laugh at his behavior, and nodded vehemently, a small chuckle escaping her lips as she felt Sirius press his lips against hers.

Whoever that guy was or whatever he was trying to accomplish was long forgotten and as they pulled apart, Marlene already had a smug smirk on her face.

"Afraid of the competition, Black?" her voice mumbled and even though the next song had already started, Sirius had no trouble hearing every single word she spoke.

"You call that a competition?" he shot back, his head turning the way the guy had left as he frowned. "Honestly, McKinnon, I don't even know why you waste your time trying to make me jealous."

Marlene laughed. She was used to his big ego coming to life whenever he felt threatened. Of course he was egocentric on a daily basis, but when it involved another guy trying to flirt with her, his eyes turned a darker shade of grey and she swore she could see steam coming off his ears. She knew he would never admit, but Sirius Black, for as greatly as he thought of himself, was a jealous, protective asshole, but she couldn't help loving him.


	12. First place together

"Are we there yet?" the question slipped out of Marlene's mouth for the fourth time in less than 15 minutes. She was tired of walking around in the Muggle streets of atypical sunny London. She wanted to be inside her room, probably with a thermo spell to keep the heat away, instead of following Sirius around for the entire morning.

'We're not going to take much longer' he had said. 'It's a 10 minutes thing, at most' he said, but there she was, walking around aimlessly, her feet dragging against the concrete sidewalk, her head burning up and her hands sweaty. That was not how she planned to spend that Saturday morning.

"It's just around the corner," Sirius said turning back to her, examining the girl he had been dragging around the place. Truth to be told, he had kept her walking for the solely purpose of her getting used to the neighbourhood. He knew it was insane to test Marlene's patience, but it was all part of the surprise he had coming up.

Sirius was the kind of person who never thought much about the future and what it held for him. He liked to live in the moment and follow his instincts, but it all had changed now. To be honest, it started to change long before his days in Hogwarts had come to an end. The more he thought about it, the more he realized that ever since he laid his eyes on Marlene McKinnon, his concept of future had changed to something far away from his wildest dreams.

Suddenly, he wanted to have a fixed home, somewhere he could return to after an exhausting day at work or somewhere he could hide himself from everyone, except her. Little by little, Marlene had, unknowingly, changed his mind and his plans and the same, with certain reluctance, could be said about her.

That was why he pushed his luck that day: his mind was set on sharing this with her, all worries and insecurities aside.

"That's what you said last time," the girl complained once more, her head falling back and a loud sigh escaping her lips. She wasn't one to complain so much, but all that wandering and secrecy had pushed her to her limit. Couldn't Sirius just get it over with so they could seek for a cooler place to be?

Without saying anything else, the young man smiled and grabbed Marlene's hand, his feet leading them to a double glass door, pushing it open and stepping into a wide empty lounge, mail boxes filling one wall while the one in front of it supported a reception desk with a middle-aged man behind it.

Marlene noticed when the man only nodded at Sirius' direction, a smile on his face, as she was pulled towards the stairway, her boyfriend taking two steps at time, making her fumble to fall into his pace, and not stopping until they've reached the fourth floor, his breath not even a little bit labored.

At this point, Sirius could feel his heart stammering wildly against his ribcage, the sound echoing loudly in his ears. What if he had taken a way too big step? What if she hated the place? What if she never intended on living with him? Too many questions were going through his mind, but, after a few deep breaths and mentally reassuring himself, the young Black reached in his pocket, retrieving a small silver key from it, sticking it in a door lock, and pushing it open, revealing an empty space in front of them. Finally letting go of Marlene's hand, he took a step forward, his arms wide open and an unsure smile on his face, turning to the girl at the in the doorway.

"What do you think?" he asked as soon as his eyes landed on her confused ones. It suddenly dawned on him that she was completely clueless to everything he was doing so far. "I thought about using these columns here to divide the living room from the dining room," he started, his hands moving from one side to another. "And there could be a couch on this corner while the TV could be set diagonally from it, this way the sun wouldn't reflect on it." He went on, his steps leading him farther into the apartment.

Tentatively, Marlene finally moved into the room, her eyes roaming around the place in some kind of awe, taking in the empty space in front of her. Somehow, she could picture everything he was describing, every little detail enticing her mind and making her wonder what it would be like living there, creating memories and fulfilling dreams. It wasn't hard to picture them there, their clothes scattered to the floor, a low song coming from the stereo set. She could see herself spending nights lying on the carpet in front of the TV while she tried to finish her work and Sirius lying on the couch, one of his arms hanging from one side as he tried to talk her into letting it go and going to bed.

It was simple and it was easy to see their future there, every morning routine playing in the back of her mind as she continued to walk around the apartment. A quick look in the kitchen and she already saw herself making breakfast, Sirius attempting to help, but only ending up with pancake dough all over himself.  
"What are you thinking about?" she heard someone saying behind her, startling her a little.

Marlene turned around, a smile threatening to widen on her lips as she stared at Sirius for the first time since she walked in the apartment. She had thought about acting mad, like he was out of his mind for suggesting what she was sure he was implying, but she couldn't. She was feeling so uncharacteristically happy and in love that it overwhelmed her, leaving no space for any other kind of reaction but the true spirit of her soul.

"I don't know," she started, her steps getting closer to him as she walked to the center of what he had called the living room. "You haven't showed me the bedroom yet."

With a chuckle, Sirius grabbed her hand, his feet running to the door on the far right, opening it to reveal another empty room, a wall-length window leading to a balcony.

"I suppose you already have everything in mind for this place, right?" she asked turning to him, her eyebrows up. She didn't miss the malicious stare he sent to her, but her thoughts were racing all over the place, so she decided to ignore it.

"Not really," he said with a shrug. "I thought I'd let you take care of that." Sirius completed, his steps echoing around the empty bedroom as he made his way to Marlene, his arms circling around her waist as his head dropped to her shoulders, a sigh of content escaping his lips. "So… Did you like it?" he finally asked, his voice small and fearful.

She could be mean, she knew that, but seeing Sirius eyes stare deep into hers, seeking for certainty and approval made Marlene see how insecure he actually was about it all, something she thought that didn't suit him. That was why she decided on sending him a smile, a little laugh sounding, the hallow chamber making it louder than it actually was.

"I love it," she admitted turning in his arms, her hands resting on his chest as she felt him exhaling relieved. "For now." She completed a few seconds later, his smile faltering a bit.

"What do you mean?" Sirius asked too quickly, gulping down the sudden knot that formed in his throat.

"Well," Marlene started. "We're moving in together, talking about spending the rest of our lives together. It just seems so serious for us, don't you think? I don't know, Black. We might end up adding a few kids there, don't you think?"

The look on his face was some sight to sore eyes. From that day on, Marlene couldn't understand how Sirius' eyes didn't fall off their sockets. She laughed at him wholeheartedly, taking the self note to never throw that kind of conversation into him without any preparation, and she thought she would never see him reacting like that again until, a few years later, she told him she was pregnant, for real.

The one bedroom apartment, soon wasn't going to be enough for them and as Marlene was getting bigger and bigger (oh, the perks of having twins) Sirius was going out of his mind trying to find another place for them to live.

Now, a bit older and with more responsibilities, the searching of the perfect home should be thought thoroughly. It had to be somewhere calm and quiet, with a nice neighbourhood. It had to be within reach of their workplace, even for wizards who could Apparate.

That was why Sirius and Marlene decided on having a house, some place with a lot of space so the kids could play around and make noise without worrying about neighbors complaining about it.

What Marlene didn't expect, however, was how excessive Sirius was as she walked into their new six bedrooms, four bathrooms, one big kitchen leading up to a huge backyard, one dining room and one living room new house. She didn't understand why it had to be this big, even after he explained the price was favorable and each one of them could have their own office.

"Just picture this: the kids running around the backyard, little arm floats on them, as we tell them to be careful. They are shrieking in delight, jumping in the pool…"

"What pool?" she asked with a roll of eye.

"Oh, there's going to be one, don't worry." He said with a crooked smile. "James and I are going to take care of that. It's our project for the summer."

Marlene blinked a few times, shaking her head as she decided to let it go and not ask anymore, making her way back to the front door to watch the moving crew get box after box out of the truck. Her eyes didn't miss, however, another moving truck stopping in front of the house next to them, a familiar black hair making its way out of the door.

"Morning, neighbor," she heard from across the fence.

"BLACK!" she screamed gaining the attention of her new neighbor, a devious smile appearing on his face.


	13. Diagon Alley

There was a bittersweet feeling about being back in Diagon Alley and not rushing around to buy any school supplies. There was no thrill in running into your friends and talk to them about how summer had gone, no excitement in buying new books for the upcoming semester or walking into Madame Malkins because you had outgrown your robes. None of that mattered anymore, Sirius thought, as he walked down the main street, his eyes scanning every face he saw, seeing in them everything he had felt when he was in Hogwarts.

However, Sirius couldn't complain; he had finally graduated and very well so, something he had doubted that could ever happen, and despite the war threat growing thicker each day, he couldn't deny that he was doing well, his friends were doing well and his life was, somehow, kind of perfect. He had his flat, which he didn't mind sharing with one specific blonde, blue-eyed girl, the same one who was walking by his side at that moment, holding his hand with a carefree expression adorning her face, her head tilted back enjoying the sun that had decided to show up after a few rainy days.

So, if anyone were to ask, Sirius Black was happier than he had ever been. He was way past his prejudiced family, way past school drama and, to make everything better, way past curfews and homework. That was the upside of having graduated: the freedom, the lack of responsibilities. He had all the time in the world.

And it was thinking that way that he and Marlene had decided that as much as staying home living for their hobbies, takeout food and amazing sex was like living the dream, going out and seeing other people seemed like a good idea too. They were in great need of doing some grocery shopping and while Sirius had tried to talk his girlfriend out of it, saying they lived near countless restaurants, she'd stated that they had been eating too much junk food and that someday he'd regret that decision.

And then there were them, four hours later, walking mindlessly through the most hectic shopping center in the Wizarding community in the UK, looking at shop windows, getting ice-cream from the Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour while talking nonsense, watching as people went by them without much of a look. All in all, it was being a good summer day where they felt like nothing could go wrong.

But, of course, they had to think it and jinx it. Because, Merlin forbid, but Marlene McKinnon and Sirius Black could not have one day out of their place where everything goes down the drain. It was too much to ask.

The first person to see it was Sirius. He was walking through a group of people, his body making way for Marlene to follow him when he saw a black mop of head in front of him. At first, he thought it could be anyone, until his eyes fell down the body and recognized the pretentions clothes the man was wearing. Black slacks with a black long sleeved shirt buttoned all the way up, the hair pulled back and a tedious look on his face. There couldn't be anyone else looking like him. It would be much too close to Sirius' nightmare.

The young Black stopped in his tracks suddenly, barely giving reaction time to Marlene who bumped her head against his shoulders, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she looked at the boy in front of her.

"What?" she had let go of his hand, walked in front of him and turned her head to his, her arms crossed over her chest.

Sirius didn't say anything. He didn't want to draw attention and they were dangerously close to the man, who now was accompanied by another woman, her hair pulled back in a tight bun. They seemed so out of place standing in the middle of the street that Sirius wondered what they were doing there. Surely they had to be in the wrong place or maybe making their way to Knockturn Alley. There was no other explanation.

When he didn't reply, Marlene turned around, her eyes following his and coming face to face with Orion and Walburga Black. She felt her breath get stuck in her chest, like it had been hit by a strong force she couldn't see where it had come from. Those two were responsible for a lot of Sirius' traumas, responsible for the great deal of nightmares that woke him up in the middle of the night, cold sweat running down his face. And they were right there, ten steps away from her. Her self control was on the verge of leaving her body; she had a few things to say to them.

But she didn't even need to take one step towards them. It was like they felt eyes glued to their backs and looked around, their cold grey eyes meeting her blue ones, a look of disdain appearing on their faces almost immediately. It was obvious they'd rather be lying six feet underground than being three meters away from what they'd call scum.

And that was the word Sirius saw leaving the lips of the woman who brought him to this world, her eyes running up and down Marlene's body, her lips pursing in disgust, voicing the world so clearly he was sure it was meant for him to hear it.

In a blink of an eye, he wasn't frozen anymore. All he wanted was to walk up to them and yell at them, yell at how stupid they were with their pureblood supremacy, how wrong they were for following someone so sick, for choosing to fight for a lost cause. He wanted to yell at them things he had never had the courage to say in eighteen years, yell how much he hated them for everything that they made him go through, and yell at them for ever looking at the one person who made him happy at that way, for insulting her.

His ears were buzzing, his face all red and hot, his feet starting to move towards them, but a small hand grasping his arm making him stop once again, his head turning back almost immediately.

"It's not worth it, Sirius," he heard Marlene saying, her eyes looking intently at him, trying to convey as much calm to him as possible. She didn't need him to do something he'd regret doing later.

"They can't…" he started, a long sigh escaping his lips, his eyes moving between her and his parents, exasperatedly.

"No," she said forcefully. "You can't let them aggravate you this much. They're ridiculous prejudiced people who aren't worth our breaths. They can say whatever they want about me, about us, about our friends. I know it's nothing but bullshit. I don't care. You shouldn't as well."

Sirius stood there looking at her, her soft expression, kind eyes and easy smile. She always had been so much better at ignoring what people had to say about her, something he envied her for. But he knew she was right. If he'd let them bother him, then they'd already be winning.

"Ok," he whispered at last, his figure turning fully to hers, his shoulders dropping. "Ok, you're right."

Marlene smiled. She knew it was a hard decision to be made by him, she knew he wanted nothing else than to confront his family about everything, but it was not the time. She didn't want him to spend another day stressing over people who didn't deserve having him in their life. Sirius had always been too good for them and they'd get what they deserved in a way or another.

Softly, she slid her hand down his arm, intertwining their fingers before she offered him a smile. She was right. She would always be right.


	14. Down By The Lake

There was something poetic about the way the grey smoke contrasted against the dark sky, the stars shining brightly, reflecting their glow on the stilled surface of the Black Lake, the moon hiding itself behind its own shadow, the warm breeze hitting the trees making them sway from one side to the other.

But Marlene was oblivious to all of that. All she cared about was taking another big drag on her cigarette, before blowing the chemical smoke up in the air, her thoughts lost inside her mind. It had been a little over than a month since she had lost the Quidditch Cup, since she last had walked away from Sirius, leaving him wordlessly in the middle of the Gryffindor Common Room. It had been 35 days, to be exact and not one time she had stopped thinking about it.

It all started in the next morning, where she woke up with a big smile on her face as her brain replayed everything that had happened, the way he was looking at her, the way he was clenching and unclenching his fist, how he looked like he barely could hold himself against the wall that he had been the whole night until he finally snapped and marched up to her. She remembered the excitement she felt when his steps came to a halt in front of her, a look of pure jealous burning deep in his eyes. She knew she had done it to him and she couldn't be prouder of herself. And while that memory brought a smile to her face at that moment, she couldn't understand why it kept playing on her mind for the rest of the month.

Each time, she'd take notice in something else, like the hurt look in his eyes when she was dancing with the guy she had long forgotten, or how she had made sure that he was watching her every time, not mattering if she was with some guy or not. What struck her the most was the realization that she had made sure to shoo away every girl looking at him, like he could only keep his eyes to her and no one else. That thought, however, didn't hit her until the week before, when James had rolled his eyes at her after she mentioned how Sirius had stood there, his mouth open and a semi hard-on for the millionth time.

But of course James was being just a bit too dramatic, right? She wasn't competing with any other girl in the room that night, because there was no competition for two reasons: first, she knew no one could ever beat her and second, she didn't care if Sirius had been going out with other girls. They were never exclusive, they didn't have any string attached and, most important of all, they would never be together again. It was a onetime thing that happened over the course of six months.

That was the kind of thing she told James, but he once again dismissed her with a wave of his hand, saying that if that was the kind of crap she needed to believe in order to move on with her life, then he'd pretend it was the truth. Only it was the truth. Wasn't it?

That was why she found herself sitting against the largest rock by the lake shore that night, the cigarette burning in her hand before she took the last drag, throwing it to the side and exhaling the smoke that, ironically, reminded her of the one person she was trying to forget. It was past the curfew, but she couldn't force herself to care. She wasn't exactly hiding from anyone, so there was the risk of being caught, but it seemed meaningless compared to all the things she had to worry about.

James couldn't be right. She was 100% sure that whatever she felt towards Sirius was nothing but physical attraction. He was good-looking – extremely good-looking – and he had the pair of the most amazing grey eyes she had ever seen, almost like liquid silver running free, almost like the smoke that was coming out of her lungs a few minutes ago. He had the most amazing jaw line, sharp, covered in a thin layer of black beard, a combination that felt amazing when his head was between her legs as his lips did wonders to her. Purely physical.

Then why couldn't she stop thinking about the way he'd look at her when they were together, a smirk on his face, as he teased her? Why couldn't she let go of the feeling of her heart hammering against her ribcage whenever he walked into the room? At the time, she was sure it was anticipation, excitement for what was going to happen, but now she wasn't so certain. There was something else, some kind of force that made her entire being vibrate just by a single look he sent towards her. She craved for his attention whenever they were in classroom, she craved his attention when she was sat across from him in the Great Room and, with a pang, she finally realized that she missed him altogether.

She missed the way his hand felt against her chest, sitting against her crazy heartbeat, laughing at her as she rolled her eyes. She missed that one time they were too tired to move and ended up just lying on the bed, their bodies tangled. She missed his breath against her neck, the way his hand felt against hers, their intertwined fingers in a gentle caress.

"Fuck," she murmured, her head shaking from one side to the other, her eyes wide open. It couldn't be. She couldn't be _in love_ with with Sirius Black. It had to be some kind of sick game the universe was playing. She was Marlene McKinnon. She didn't fall in love with anyone, especially not for Sirius Black. Only she did. It had happened and now she wanted to scream at the world. "Oh, fuck!" she said more clearly this time, her voice carrying away, startling some birds resting on a tree nearby.

She was so lost in thought that she didn't see the movement behind her back, the sound of leaves being crunched and rocks being kicked, until it was too late. Suddenly the source of all her distress was standing right next to her, his hands buried deep in his pockets, his head down, his lips caught between his teeth. His approach was so silent that Marlene almost fell off the rock she was sitting on when she saw he was beside her. It was just her luck.

They didn't say anything for what felt like hours, their gazes staring ahead to the black mirror that was the still water in the lake's surface. It felt like there was a thick tension between them, their last words to each other resonating in their heads, Marlene's previous thoughts tempting to make their way out of her mouth; They became part of the landscape, their bodies remaining unmoving, their breaths was the only sound to be heard.

It was hard to tell who was the first one to move, but without any warning, they were a few steps away for each other, their breaths finally mingling, their eyes looking over their heads. It was a tense moment, for they didn't know what to say, what to do. For so long, they had jumped at any opportunity to be closer than this, but now everything felt different, everything felt like it was slowly falling apart.

"Hi," Sirius whispered, his voice getting caught in the back of his throat. It seemed such an idiotic thing to say, but his mind couldn't come up with anything else. He was too nervous, too scared of what was going to happen.

"Hey," was all she whispered back, her lower lip ending up trapped between her teeth, an action that she didn't realize she was doing, but something that made Sirius lower his eyes towards it, a flicker of something showing in his grey orbs.

Marlene wanted to end it all and just wrap her arms around his neck, feeling his scent invading her nostrils, inebriating her mind completely, but she knew they weren't in that situation anymore and it was her own fault. It was his fault. They both were to blame, both too scared to admit what they really felt, scared to admit feelings, scared to show each other their weakness, how deeply scarred they were. But nothing more was said. They were much too proud to confess their true sentiments, too stubborn.

Sirius kicked a small rock into the lake, creating a pattern of circular waves reverberating next to their feet, his eyes tearing away from Marlene's lip to look at the outline of Hogwarts almost hidden by the shadows.

"It feels kinda sad, doesn't It?" He said, trying once again to engage in a conversation with the blonde by his side.

"What is?" She was looking at him now, his beautiful face almost covered by the darkness around them. She couldn't read much of his expressions, but she wasn't going to turn away.

"How it might be the last time we stand in here, with this sky, the stars and the castle," he explained. "We're not coming back after this summer."

Marlene smiled. "I wouldn't say sad, but… nostalgic." Her arms wrapped around her body at the sudden chill that ran down her spine. She hasn't realized that up until that moment and, somehow, it made her even more stressed. When had she become so oblivious to everything happening around her? "What are you going to do after here?"

The question caught him off guard. Not because he hadn't thought about it, because he had, but because he would never imagine that she cared.

"I'm not sure yet," he shrugged. "Maybe join the Order…" he looked at her. "You heard about it, right?" She nodded. "Yeah. Dumbledore talked to a few of us about it. We're all thinking about it."

She was impressed, but not surprised. She had known James for as long as she had lived and if Sirius was anything like him, of course he'd join in the fight. She had thought about it too, but things weren't exactly easy for her back home. She had to deal with a lot, with the ghost of her brother lurking in every corner of her parents mind. If she told them about her wanting to be in the Order, she'd have to deal with that war first.

"Aren't you scared?" Her voice trembled and she cursed. She was coming off as weak and that was the kind of thing she didn't want anyone to think of her.

"Of the war?" If he had noticed her tone, he didn't say anything. "Or something else?" This time, he was looking at her, holding her stare on his, trying to undercover every layer of emotion behind those cerulean eyes. And he saw that she had understood what he meant, he saw her eyes flash an unknown feeling before it disappeared.

"Sirius…" she started, her eyes moving from his, her head shaking. She didn't know what she was going to say, but she didn't want him to ask her those kind of questions. She was scared of it all, of the war, of dying, of her newly found feelings for him. She was overwhelmed.

"No," he insisted. "Not this time, Marlene. I know you feel it too, I can see it in the way you can't look at me. You're trying to hide it, but I can see it."

His voice sounded so broken, so full of emotion that she couldn't restrain herself. She couldn't keep looking away from him, from his sincere eyes, from his chapped lips and his hammering heart. And she didn't want to. Marlene wanted to keep him close, closer than anyone had ever been. She wanted to have him by her side all the time, she wanted him to herself, as selfish as it was. She didn't care anymore. She was scared, yes, but weren't them all? Wasn't love something scaring and risking? She saw it when James and Lily first started dating, how they'd look at each other, desperately crying for the other not break their hearts while proclaming they'd be safe with each other, be it in actions or words. And she wanted that, she just hadn't realized it until that night. She hadn't realized that she wanted all the risk, all the thrill and she wanted it with Sirius Black. As crazy as it sounded.

And that was why Marlene found herself leaning into him, taking tentative steps towards the young man, her breath coming out in shallow puffs of air, cracking her knuckles unconsciously. And it wasn't until she felt his warm breath hitting her face that she saw how close they were, how his eyes were glistening in the stars light, how his chest was raising and falling in a rapid motion, much like hers.

His hands reached forwards, holding her arms securely, afraid she was going to run away from him, but she had decided she wouldn't. She wanted it, he wanted it. They were both in the same place, the same feelings, the same intentions. Marlene had realized she needed Sirius more than she needed air and while being with him was scaring, being away from him was scarier.

His right hand reached up her arms, tracing a light touch, eliciting goosebumps on her soft skin. Tenderly, his fingers reached her cheek, his thumb caressing her ever so lightly, making her lean into his touch, craving for more.

Slowly, his head dipped down, their noses touching, their lips brushing against each other gently, before his captured hers in a calm, tentative kiss, something they weren't used to, but it felt better than any other kiss they could have ever shared. Because now, there was affection, there was a sense of secureness, there was a feeling of belonging, there was _love_.

Almost as soon as it started, it was over. Sirius rested his forehead against Marlene's, his eyes closed still soaking in the moment, trying to savor the feeling for a little longer. He felt as her arms wrapping around his waist, bringing him closer to her, her head moving to nest on the crook of his neck, deep breaths entering her system. Finally, everything felt like falling into pieces again. He felt like the world could throw anything at him and he'd manage to make it out alive. He was invencible and all because of a certain Slytherin who had rocked his world.


End file.
